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For a long time, I have wondered why the word ‘schadenfreude’, borrowed from German, meaning to experience joy obtained from the troubles of others, does not have an English translation. The more recent equivalent: ‘trolling’ doesn’t quite cut it.
To take pleasure in the misfortunes of others is not unfamiliar to the human condition, and in fact, we are informed that the syndrome exists in children as young as 24 months.
However, what does one make of the syndrome of meanness, envy, anger, rage and jealousy evoked at the sight of the happiness of others?
The days following Lalit Modi’s intemperate announcement of his coupling with Sushmita Sen brought forth such an avalanche of meanness and cynicism that frankly, it took my breath away.
Wherever I went, whoever I met, it seemed as if no one had a kind word to say and the worst intentions were attributed to both the parties involved and it made me wonder if the WHO - declared global mental health pandemic following Covid, could have resulted in people, now taking pleasure in not only the misfortunes of others -but their happiness too?
Person after person I met spewed vitriol and suspicion on the couple and their motives and the one that I found most offensive was the ‘gold digger’ tag afforded to Sushmita, a woman who in full public gaze, has dated a legion of men far less successful than herself and has never sought the ‘security’ of marriage till date.
That she had also as a single woman adopted her first daughter at the age of 24 apparently made no difference to her critics, happy to paint her as a fortune hunter after the Modi millions….
What’s even more disheartening is that much of this regressive reaction emanated from across the board, including the so-called intelligentsia and chattering classes making one realise that negativity is not the monopoly of incentivized faceless right-wing trolls alone.
Every day there is enough to be dismayed about. Incursions into civil liberties, free speech and the pluralism so important for a healthy democracy are on the increase.
As also acts are senseless violence and cruelty. This week, a DSP on duty was run over by a truck at an illegal mining site in Haryana in broad daylight. Meanwhile, a sadhu set himself on fire in protest over inaction against stone -mining in Rajasthan. And anger and violence broke out over the suicide of a class XII girl who died after being humiliated by her teachers at a private school in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi.
And as if there were not enough, there are other more quotidian instances of DEPRAVITY: Friends in Goa received a notice that their electricity would be cut off by 9.30 pm that evening ‘because your previous month’s bill was not update’ (Sic).
Needless to say, it was a cheap, money- making, scam thought up by a bunch of semantically -challenged amateurs trying to gyp hapless middle-class homeowners of their hard-earned pennies and though most were not taken in by it, the fact that in these miserable times there were people scheming to make life even more miserable for others, was chilling…
Meanwhile, news from the UK comes in that Boris Johnson chose to end his final address to the nation with the words: ‘Hasta La Vista. Baby’ which all things considered, is in character, but when compared to Obama’s farewell speech: ‘I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders..’ says a lot about the times we live in.
In fact, this current state of affairs where Brad Pitt has been spotted at a movie promotion in a skirt and Ranveer Singh has posed nude for a magazine cover is best captured by the popular meme that states: ‘It’s a great time to be alive, if one loves the theatre of the absurd’.
However, it’s always a good plan to look on the brighter side of things and they do exist if you look hard enough: Photographer Atul Kasbekar’s recent tweet on mothers and their legendary selfless love for their kids, brought forth an avalanche of good feeling:
‘Mum had a heart condition for which she was rushed to hospital on Monday; surgery went very well, thank you 🙏🏽’, he’d tweeted, but the reason for this tweet is that in post-surgical recovery her first words thru the anesthetizer haze are, “have you had breakfast?’.
As expected, the poignant anecdote evoked a wellspring of mother-love, with responses like: ‘That’s mums for you’ and ‘they are the angels of our lives’ flooding in.
Another piece of sunshine came in the form of India’s apex court allowing an unmarried woman to abort her 24-week pregnancy arising out of a consensual relationship; this at a time when American courts appear to be regressing back into the dark ages.
But what has got me feeling real hope for humanity are the Sri Lanka protests which (touch wood) have so far, been the kind of people’s uprising that should be a world standard. Marked by solidarity, decency, non-violence and a tremendous sense of responsibility and forbearance. I have watched as senior citizens, children, students and professionals have marched, sung, fed each other and stood shoulder to shoulder over months, as they attempt to overturn an oppressive and corrupt regime. And the fact that these people are led to despair by the shortage of fuel, food and medicines is even more remarkable when compared with last year’s march on Capitol Hill by American rioters.
Ultimately, the Sri Lankan uprising gives hope in the decency of the human spirit.
In fact, I have always been aware of the innate decency of people. And towards this, I offer a nugget of proof: Decades ago, I had gone to interview a leading actress for a newspaper profile. Articulate and charming, it was her warmth that had made her enquire why I appeared subdued and perhaps a bit despondent and had led me to share that I had just come from the hospital bedside of a friend’s child who was undergoing chemotherapy.
The actress had appeared deeply moved and had asked me in detail about the child and before I’d left, had excused herself, returning from her bedroom, to place a gold pendant attached to a heavy chain, in my hands.
“This was given to me as a good luck charm by XYZ when I was in trouble,” she‘d said, mentioning the name of a superstar. “And it had brought me healing. I want you to give this to the little girl” she’d said.
And you know what gentle reader? That’s what I’d done. Taken something given in good faith and a spontaneous gesture of empathy and duly given it to the person who’d required it.
Today, by God’s grace, the child has fully recovered, and I do not know what has happened to the pendant and chain. For all I know, it’s been passed on to the next person who required it. I have met the actress a few times since then but neither of us has mentioned her astonishing act of empathy, nor have I referred to it much in public. In a world filled with so much negativity, such things are bound to be tarnished or drowned in cynicism.
In fact, I only bring this up because the actress in question happens to be Sushmita Sen, the same woman who is being cruelly dismissed as a gold digger by people who don’t know her.
Perhaps this will also explain why I find so much that passes as the public discourse, these days, so absurd.
Road safety: Still a long way to go for Chandigarh tricity
Much needs to be done in terms of road design, infrastructure and traffic management when it comes to road safety in the tricity, states RITES in its interim report. RITES, that is working on a comprehensive mobility plan to resolve the burgeoning traffic woes in the tricity, has listed nine such LOS for Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, and found them equally lacking in the road safety parameter.
Chandigarh: Soon, register tree felling, pruning requests online
In a bid to ensure quick execution, the UT administration has issued a new guideline for taking down trees in the city, under which residents can approach the administration for all felling or pruning requests through a single window system, which will be developed by Chandigarh Smart City Limited. The secretary, forest, will give the approvals for cutting of trees.
Chandigarh Police inspector in soup for contempt of court
Trouble is brewing for an inspector of the Chandigarh Police, as a judicial magistrate has complained against him to judicial magistrate Bharat for contempt of court. The inspector, Amanjot Singh, is posted with the operation cell in Sector 26. In his complaint, judicial magistrate Bharat said inspector Amanjot Singh, despite being a public servant, knowingly disobeyed the directions of law and used intemperate language in court.
Admission process for Chandigarh colleges to begin on July 23
Candidates seeking admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in city colleges for the 2022-23 academic session can apply online from Saturday (July 23), as per the joint prospectus of government and aided colleges in Chandigarh that was launched by UT adviser Dharam Pal on Friday. The web portal to fill the admission form will be open from July 23 to August 3 for first year admissions.
CBSE Class-10 results: Chandigarh’s Nahar Rohilla tops tricity with 99.8%
Scoring 99.8% marks, Nahar Rohilla of KBDAV School, Sector 7, has topped the tricity in the CBSE Class-10 exams, results of which were declared on Friday afternoon. A resident of Sector 33, Nahar scored 499 out of 500 marks, losing only one mark in social sciences. Nahar says he wants to opt for the medical stream and pursue his ambition of becoming a doctor. Although he has not finalised which specialty he will undertake.
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